Huzzah! Ah. Ugh.

The TV ratings have been released for game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, and they are cause for celebration, as it was the most watched NHL game in the past 36 years.

From SI.com

The Pittsburgh Penguins‘ championship-clinching 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on NBC on Friday night averaged 8 million viewers. The network said Monday that’s the most since Game 6 of the 1973 Stanley Cup finals between Montreal and Chicago.

Game 7 earned a 4.3 rating and 8 share. It was the highest rating for a series-ending game since Game 7 of the 2003 Anaheim-New Jersey series.

Read the full article here

Instant analysis: Well, I suppose when you have hit rock bottom there is nowhere else to go but up. The “success” of the rating not withstanding, you have to wonder how viable the NHL will ever be in the United States when a game 7 involving two of your more marquee franchises, and your most celebrated player, only gets you a rating comparable to your average Sunday afternoon golf tournament.